PERSONAL income grew at an average 3.7 percent in U.S. counties in 2010, rebounding from an average decline of 4.3 percent in 2009. Inflation, as measured by the national price index for personal consumption expenditures, was 1.8 percent in 2010. Personal income grew in 2,932 counties, declined in 175 counties, and was unchanged in 6 counties. Small counties were among the fastest growing. Of the 622 counties with the highest growth rates in 2010 (the top 20 percent of all counties), 534 counties (86 percent) had populations below 50,000 (chart 1).
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